Richard D. Russell » When Time is Over

Two Russell pieces presented at Emily Dickinson concert

Richard D. Russell — Mon, 03 May 2010 19:40:00 +0000

It was more than an Emily Dickinson concert, it was an experience! Jessica Castro as Emily Dickinson read poems, and music by Richard Russell, Raphael Fusco, and Robert Butts provided “a little madness in the spring” last week at the Bell and Barter Theater in Rockaway, NJ. Maestro Butts was the afternoon’s conductor.

Soprano Marjorie Berg sang my “The Tune is in the Tree” in a special chamber music arrangement, and soprano Pamela Stein sang “When Time is Over.” Aaron Dai was the day’s accompanist. A fantastic reception followed, and we are all looking to our July 25 concert, “Songs of a Sultry Summer.” For more details on that concert (and more pics), go to In Mid Air Productions. For now, here are several pics from the Emily Dickinson concert. (Click to enlarge.)

Jessica Castro as Emily Dickinson

soprano Pamela Stein with Richard Russell. She sang “When Time is Over”

soprano Marjorie Berg with Robert Butts, conductor, performing “The Tune is in the Tree”

Richard Russell, Marjorie Berg, Bud Masters at the reception

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Christina Goyne sings “When Time is Over”

Richard D. Russell — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:33:00 +0000

It was so terrific to hear Christina Goyne perform “When Time is Over” in her recital last night. She’s a new singer to my music, and she did a spectacular job, very inspiring. Since she is a mezzo I wrote a special arrangement of the piece for her, but I’ll have to write something original for her to perform: She’s great. Jason Wirth was the superb and sensitive accompanist. Here’s some pics from the evening (click to enlarge).

Jason Wirth accompanies Christina Goyne

Jason Wirth, Christina Goyne

Richard Russell with Christina Goyne after the concert

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Christina Goyne to perform “When Time is Over”

Richard D. Russell — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:38:00 +0000

Christina Goyne

Mezzo-soprano Christina Goyne will perform a special arrangement of “When Time is Over” on Thursday, April 8, at 8pm. The venue is Christ and St. Stephens at 120 West 69th Street. Also on the program are selections by Gounod, Debussy, and Brahms. The accompanist is Jason Wirth. The concert is free, but pay-what-you-wish donations accepted!

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“When Time is Over” presented by NYCC

Richard D. Russell — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:42:00 +0000

I’m a little late in posting a recap, but better late than never! On February 23, 2010, Sofia Dimitrova, accompanied by Tamara Cashour (not pictured) performed “When Time is Over” in a concert presented by the New York Composers Circle. The venue here is Saint Peters Church at the Citigroup Building. I was delighted to see so many old and new friends at the concert.

Addressing the audience

Sofia Dimitrova

After the concert congratulations!

As is the habit of the NYCC, I was asked to say a few words about the piece beforehand. Instead, I couldn’t help but remark this is the second time the NYCC has asked me to open a concert with a piece that is rather dark in tone. (The first time was “Three Elegies” at Symphony Space, back in 2007, performed by Tiffany DuMouchelle and percussionist Stephen Solook.) It doesn’t seem like the best idea to open a concert with pieces along the lines of “Three Elegies” or “When Time is Over!” So I joked that if you want someone to open your concert with one of those slow, meditative, ruminative pieces about life and death, I’m obviously your go-to guy! Fortunately, the audience got the joke. Here’s some pics and, because of the low lighting, apologies for the quality! (Click images for larger size.)

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“When Time is Over” to be performed in Bulgaria

Richard D. Russell — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Soprano Sofia Dimitrova is performing my song cycle, “When Time is Over” on July 17 in Varna, Bulgaria. The song cycle is based on texts by Emily Dickinson and the sheet music can be found on the compositions page of this website.

This is the poster advertising the concert. For those who don’t read Bulgarian, it reads (from top to bottom): 17 July ’09 17:30, Bach Hall | Bulgarian Methodist Church | RECITAL | Sofia Dimitrova, piano, & Diana Koynova, piano | arias from Puccini, Mozart, Verdi, and premieres of new songs | Free admission.

This concert is being offered in memory of Sofia’s mother, Julia.

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